Spanish firm offers $12.8 billion to lease Pa. Turnpike

Spanish firm offers $12.8 billion to lease Pa. Turnpike

www.philly.com

A Spanish toll-road operator won the bidding war to operate the Pennsylvania Turnpike, offering $12.8 billion for a 75-year lease, Gov. Rendell said today.

------------------

Abertis and its predecesor companies has been operating toll roads in Europe for 40 years. Its network covers 68 percent of Spain's toll routes and toll roads in northern and western France. It also has a stake in toll road operations in Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Chile, Colombia and Argentina.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I admit that I know very little about toll roads, as I live in an area where there are none. Although much of what I have heard from relatives who use them daily sounds kind of ridiculous.

I'm curious to hear some ATS opinions on this and other toll roads....

www.philly.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by SystemiK


Not much to 'em. You get a little ticket (or have an EZ Pass type thing), get on the highway, then when you get off, it charges you based off of how far you go.

Also, if you speed, it can calculate how fast you went and give you a ticket.

reply to post by SystemiK


see this goes against the entire purpose of toll roads and bridges and tunnels, there ran so that the local or state goverment can gain more funding through tolls to help with upkeep and creation of infrastructure. these tolls are supposed to pay for road upkeep and creation not line some private firms pockets.

Greed at it's utmost sickest . Government officials selling America piece by piece to multi-national corporations.

Absolutely sicking.

Originally posted by krill
reply to post by SystemiK

 

these tolls are supposed to pay for road upkeep and creation not line some private firms pockets.

As a PA resident I can assure you that very little (if any) money goes to this purpose. In other word the roads here suck!

oh trust me i know iv been through pa hundreds of times i know that condition the roads are in, but that still dosent change the fact that the tolls are created with the purpose of upkeep and creation of roads and other travel ways.

Last time I checked, I could be wrong though, is that our gas tax pays for the roads and Gov. Rendell's budget was placed on hold last summer because of a mass transit bill that eventually passed.

So why is this firm getting this deal?

Wake up people. Put down the remote control and read before we are all remotely controlled by the corporations that are buying up our once great country.

We dont even have a country anymore!

Its all being sold out..to the very people who are terror suspects.

Down is up and up is down.

They are still getting money for it. I guess I just don't see a big deal with this.

Can anyone explain the problem?

Originally posted by krill
oh trust me i know iv been through pa hundreds of times i know that condition the roads are in, but that still dosent change the fact that the tolls are created with the purpose of upkeep and creation of roads and other travel ways.

Noted. But I guess my point was... Where is this money going if the roads are in such bad shape?

Ummm.....I think I had a thread or two on this matter that went missing. It's all good, I'm just a guest.

I don't know where it was going before. But apparently, now the money is going to freaking Spain.

When does a situation no longer call for merely voting for new people? When does open revolt become necessary? I'm tempted to answer my own question with, "When other countries own... er, "lease" our country's roads."

reply to post by mattifikation


Not to worry, the lease term will be up in 2083. What's next? Lease our lakes and rivers to Mexico? Sadly enough, this country once belonged to it's people. My how times have changed.....

For Christ's sake people, they are not leasing the god damn road. 'Ameerikaa' is safe.

'They are leasing the rights to the roadway and operation thereof.

I know, some of you might not be able to tell the difference.

Microsoft leases you the rights to operate one copy of their Windows software when you buy a box in the store.
Does that mean you own Windows?
No.
You own the rights to the private operation of one copy of software.

And even then, technically, you still don't unconditionally own those rights.

tl;dr
Government lets foreign company PAY US to maintain and operate the turnpike, for the simple cost of collecting the tolls. Slight profit is projected for foreign company, ATS goes mad.

[edit on 5-20-2008 by forsakenwayfarer]

Microsoft is a piece of software created by private individuals. They can within the law sell whatever part of that company to whomever they wish - as it is their product to sell and they have in the form of stock or licenses for its use. It never at anytime belonged to the public, that's the difference.

I just don't believe greedy government officials should be in the business of selling or leasing what they do not own. It belongs to all the people from the first day to the last day, but the gains will only be realized by those in office at the time of the sale - yet people even not born yet will be paying the bill for the waste and extravagance of current officials. Defrauding the future.

Essentially some greedy officials in PA are selling future rights to control a pathway of commerce & free movement in America. American born citizens will essentially be paying a foreign corporation to drive down an American highway, because some greedy people supposed to be representing them have decided to get rich on the short term leaving those in the future without anything to show except a foreign controlled highway whom they must pay toll in order to travel in ones own country. Had it only been a 15-25 year lease then it would not be so suspicious. A 75 year lease is robbery plain and simple.

Government officials have been defrauding the American public for too long. From the sale of frequency bandwidth, to the sale of timber which the American people are left out with nothing to show except expensive bills, while the government officials and their comrades in these corporations grow incredibly rich.


[edit on 20-5-2008 by verylowfrequency]

You could voice opposition to this by contacting PA Gov. Rendell directly, via web form.

And I suppose contacting PA State Representatives or PA State Senators couldn't hurt either. Probably more effective if you are actually in PA, as well

reply to post by verylowfrequency


So it's not even the fact, it's the length. 15 or 20 years is acceptable to you?
We need a facepalm smiley.
Also, being a toll road it has never been 'public' property. Hence the toll.


edit;
It was never a "pathway of free movement" either.


[edit on 5-20-2008 by forsakenwayfarer]

reply to post by forsakenwayfarer


Of course 15 years is more acceptable than 75 if you are opposed to the idea in the first place. 0 years is an even better alternative.

wonder if they will have street vendors selling tamales and croquetas and all tht good stuff!
I'm sure that would be a nice refreshing change. It will make us forget we sold out to other countries!